The ninth thing that Mycroft learned was that everything was just a matter of perspective…

Beta:OneWhoSitsWithTheTurtles

The Matter Of Perspective

Mycroft's first instinct was to blame everything on that stupid thing. On the other hand he probably should not have left it in the plain sight where anyone could see it. To justify it though, it had to be said that only a few people were allowed into his apartment. And even fewer people knew about that. Actually only one person – Mycroft's PA, whatever her name happened to be; and that woman knew how much she'd suffer if she told anyone. Not even Mummy had any information about that, and the older Holmes dreaded the moment his brother would find out. And he would – Mycroft was sure of it, he just hoped that it'd happen later rather than sooner. He also planned to tell Mummy…some time…in the faraway future. And it was not like he was ashamed, he just preferred when no one knew.

But all that was at the back of his mind at that moment. The forefront was occupied by Gregory Lestrade standing in the middle of his living room staring at that.

"Do you wear glasses?" The DI asked, taking the simple silver rimmed glasses from the coffee table.

Mycroft suppressed an urge to cry out a 'No' like a schoolboy denying he was the one who had broken the window in the principal's office. He winced instead, allowing himself this little sign of distress in front of the other man, and came up to Lestrade. He slowly took the offending object from his hands.

"They were prescribed to me just a month ago," he explained, running his fingers over the rims.

"I haven't seen you wear them." The DI commented. "Put them on."

"I'd rather not," Mycroft replied with another wince and put them down on the table.

"Why?"

"They make me look ridiculous." The politician replied. His words were not hasty but lacked his usual aristocratic drawl. "Thankfully I don't need to wear them all the time."

"Why not? I think they'd make you look smart." Lestrade protested lightly and picked the glasses up again.

"I don't need that to look smart." Was the politician's cold reply. Mycroft might have taken it as an insult if the other man hadn't been smiling so charmingly.

"I just wanted to say that they'd make you look even more attractive."

"I highly doubt it."

Lestrade, a smirk set permanently on his face, stepped closer to Mycroft while carefully offering him the glasses.

"Put them on," he said in a soft but commanding voice.

Mycroft's eyes refocused from the man's face to the glasses held in front of his face.

"Gregory…" He said quietly, not moving to take or to reject the offered glasses.

"Come on. If I burst laughing in your face I'll promise to never make you wear them again."

"That's not what I can call a good deal."

"And I'll promise to grant any wish you might come up with," Lestrade looked pointedly at him, his gaze of hazel eyes steady with a bright twinkle of mischief.

"Anything I want?" Mycroft clarified the terms as the natural diplomat he was.

"Yes," Lestrade confirmed with a smirk.

Not for the first time Mycroft decided that the DI was very good at persuasion and thanked fate for Lestrade not taking a way of diplomacy and becoming a politician.

With his lips pressed together tightly being the only sign of his discomfort, Mycroft took the glasses with both hands by the silvery earpieces. He lifted them to his face, not quite putting them on yet, and looked at his partner through the transparent lenses. Lestrade nodded encouragingly, corners of his mouth lifted only slightly in what might become a smirk very soon.

With a sigh that was accurately exaggerated, Mycroft put the glasses on. With a gesture very foreign to him but observed from some colleagues, he pushed them up his nose with his index finger. Then he bowed his head a little and looked at the man in front of him over the silver rims.

"Are you satisfied? Can I take them off now?"

Gregory shook his head from side to side slowly, chuckling lightly at Mycroft's narrowed eyes.

"How can I ever let you do this?" Lestrade asked and Mycroft hated and loved the low teasing tone of his voice. "I think you look dashing like that."

Mycroft lifted his brows in disbelief – an expression he mastered since entering college – and made a move to take the glasses off. He was hindered though by the other man's hand gripping his wrist firmly.

"Don't," was the only thing Lestrade said; a gentle command as he took the last step separating them.

"Is it possible that you have a glasses-fetish?" Mycroft questioned straight forwardly and turned his head lightly to the side to soften his words.

"No. Just a Mycroft Holmes fetish."

"Oh, well. Good that it's not a Sherlock Holmes fetish," the politician commented casually and made another attempt to remove the spectacles from his face. Lestrade's hand encircled his fingers just over the rims. Gently he broke Mycroft's grip on them and entwined their fingers, bringing both hands down.

"Don't spoil the mood by bringing up your brother." The DI replied, caressing the knuckles of Mycroft's right hand with the tips of his fingers and letting go of the man's left hand in favor of wrapping one arm around his lover's waist.

"Well now that we established that you don't have an unhealthy addiction to men in glasses, I guess it's safe for me to take them off." Mycroft played along, turning the situation to his advantage to get what he wanted. And that included more than just those stupid glasses off as soon as possible.

"I like them on you."

"They'd get in the way." Mycroft said with a smirk – ever the cunning diplomat.

"In the way of what?"

"This," Mycroft leaned in, chastely pressing his lips to Gregory's, giving the man only a small glimpse of what might come if he just submitted to his will. Tactics he used in policy seemed to work nicely in his personal life as well.

"Oh, then…If you insist," Lestrade gave in quickly without any more protests. Slowly he brought his hands to his partner's face and slid the glasses off.

They proceeded without any more hindrances.

A/N: I've got a oneshot Personalized Deductions which is also a part of this series but was posted separately because it's from a different POV. It's set sometime after The Matter Of Perspective. I hope you'll read it as well:)